Samson

After several weeks of planning and hard work by Dave getting a run-in shelter ready, Ken and Karen brought Samson the miniature donkey to live with us. They bought him as a foal seven years ago, and I think they were sad to see him go, but also relieved to know where he would be living. Their alternative was to take him to auction, which they were reluctant to do.

"What do you know about donkeys?" you may ask. Well, as it turns out, almost nothing. We bought a book at Orscheln (the local farm store) and we refer to it constantly.

"Why in the world did you buy a donkey?" you may ask. We decided it would be a fun experience for our grandchildren. Samson came with a saddle and we tried it out for the first time today. We need some practice. We did OK with Austin riding, but then we put Sam on Samson's back and things didn't work so well. Sam is heavier, and I think we didn't get the saddle on right. When we tried to fix that Sam got his foot stepped on--which he believes was deliberate on Samson's part. It was downhill from there. Sam tried to make up with Samson by giving him an apple, but it turns out that Samson does not really care for apples. He loves pumpkins--so if you live near us let me know if you want me to pick up your old pumpkins when you are done having them sit on your porch. I can get rid of them for you.

Our grandson Sam made a little sign to welcome Samson to live with us. It is taped to the pen. He thinks it is kind of cool that his name is the same as the donkey's. I am not sure he still feels that way after his experience trying to ride him today.
To add insult to injury, Sam's friend Parker also got a ride. He rode bareback and it was pretty exciting when Samson took off at a trot and Liz and I had to pull him off Samson's back! As I said, we have a lot to learn.

Eleanor's Birthday. Nov. 7

Natalie turns 1

Halloween with a transformer and a clown!

More to the story

Susie found this aerial image to go with my previous post, and she reminded me of a few details which I left out. As the four of us walked to the door of the chapel area three garter snakes were wriggling around on the warm sidewalk. I have not attached a lot of significance to this but maybe I should. Here is a link to a website with more information.

As we were leaving we stopped the car for a moment so I could take a picture. A jogger came by and told us to read John 3:15 . . . "that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."

Here is a link for more information about the Carmel of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Who knew?

We went for a drive this afternoon with Jim and Susie. We had been at the Branched Oak Farm for the Harvest tour where we sampled incredible cheese, breads, apple cider, and generally enjoyed the beautiful day. Next we decided to drive around Branched Oak Lake and when we got to the north side of the lake we continued north looking for a small lake Dave wanted to check out. As we were driving along we saw this off in the distance. It looked like some sort of compound. We got to the driveway on Agnew Road and there was a sign that said Carmel of Mary, Jesus and Joseph. Curious, we drove in to check it out.

It is a Catholic Church with mass held every day. It is a large complex with a wall around the whole thing. We were able to enter the church and the altar is pictured here. It was dismantled from the St. Joseph Hospital in Omaha in 1980. The statue in front is waiting to be installed.

This church is literally out in the middle of nowhere. There were a few cars around when we pulled in, and another car followed us into the parking area, but it seemed deserted, and rather mysterious. I have tried an internet search, but cannot find anything about it. We speculated that it may be a retreat center.

We didn't find the lake.

Knitting Group and Game Night

It has taken over two years, but persistance has paid off and I now have a knitting group to meet with in Seward. Cheryl and I have met off and on for over two years, with an ocassional visitor joining us. We met in the campus center at Concordia, thinking we might find some students who would be interested. We met at the Memorial Library in Seward and invited friends to join us, but really, it was just the two of us. Then we met Karen from KW Fiber Farms in York who was interested, and last weekend I met Donna while we were helping with the Red Cross food booth at an auction and she has been looking for other knitters. Result: a knitting group that met this week at the Panama coffe house in Seward!! It was a lot fun and we are meeting again in a couple of weeks.
Another fun thing I did this week was go to "Gamin' Gals" at the Civic Center. It was so much fun. I have not laughed so hard in a long time. Tears were streaming down my face, and I would try to explain what was so funny, but it is a case of "You had to be there" to understand. I will go again for sure!